Second Chance at Love (The MacKenna Born & Bred Trilogy) (4 page)

Both Brooke and Karissa had spent the weekend at home with
their parents, helping their mother to settle in. On Monday morning, Karissa
left for work from her parents' house at 7:45. She had a ten minute drive into
town, and didn't need to open the shop until10:00, but she wanted some time
beforehand to go over invoicing and inventory. She also needed to order
supplies. She hadn't had time the week before to get that kind of stuff done,
and the quiet time she would have before she opened would be perfect.

April 2005

They sat in the soft, thick grass, Logan leaning back
against the trunk of a huge sycamore, one leg slightly bent and the other
extended. Brooke sat comfortably between his legs, her hand resting on his
well-muscled thigh and the back of her head nestled against the front of his
shoulder, her dark mass of hair spreading over it like a fan.

It was a warm spring day, and they were content to just sit
beneath the shade of the tree, together. They'd met for lunch and still had
some time to kill before their next classes began.  Brooke had biology and then
calculus, back to back. She knew that Logan had only one more class after lunch
on Fridays ~ Physics, followed by tennis practice. Brooke shuddered at the
thought of his physics class. She'd stick to her own math and sciences, thank
you very much.

She was pre-Med and had already been accepted into Harvard
Medical School. She knew without a doubt that she wanted to go into medicine
since she was eight years old, just as Logan had always known that he would
pursue a graduate degree in Aerospace Engineering.

Coincidentally, her love of medicine began around the same
time she and Logan were caught playing doctor in her bedroom one summer day.
Her parents had bought her the doctor play set she'd been asking for as a
birthday gift that June, complete with a medical bag filled with tools and
implements, a stethoscope and a white lab coat. Logan swore her in by reading
the Hippocratic oath that was printed on a card inside the box. Of course, it
was a scaled down version that an eight-year-old could read, but that was fine
with Brooke, who was in heaven.

As a doctor would, she instructed him to lay back on the
exam table, or the bed in their case, and be perfectly still. He was a horrible
patient. He was fidgety and impatient and complained the entire time she was
examining him. But he lay there, in nothing but his underwear, while she
examined him from head to toe. When she pressed on his stomach, he couldn't
stop himself. The gas was expelled in a loud whoosh. Her eyes widened at the
sound, and then narrowed when the smell filled the air. She squealed, and Logan
just lay there with his arms behind his head and a smirk on his little face.

“Eww, you're so gross,” Brooke exclaimed, her shrieky little
girl voice filling the room.

“That's what you get for pressing on my stomach,” Logan
said. “And you better be quiet before our moms catch us in here. We'll be in
big trouble. Everyone knows the rules ~ no kids in the house while the parents
are outside.” His eyes, as big as saucers, were completely serious.

“Fine, but you better not fart again,” she warned.

“Fine, I won't, if you don't press on my stomach again,” he
retorted.

“Just lay back and be quiet,” she whispered. He obeyed.

“Okay, Mr. MacKenna, now tell me again where it hurts,”
Brooke directed.

Logan let out an impatient breath. “I already told you.”

She glared at him. “Tell me again.” She enunciated each
word.

Reluctantly, he pointed to his chest. “It hurts here,” he
said.

“Alright, let me listen to your heart.” She brought the
stethoscope up to his chest and laid it over  the area of his heart, moving it
this way and that. “Hmm. Just as I suspected,” she said, shaking her head.
“This is very bad.”

Logan swallowed hard, his eyes wide. “What?” he asked.

She turned toward her bag, rummaging through it, and came up
with a scalpel. She held it up in front of him. “You're gonna need surgery.”

He screamed, and she broke into fits of giggles, trying to
catch her breath.

“Shh! They'll hear---” Her warning was broken off as the
door swung open suddenly.

Diana and Raelyn stood there, hands on hips, first confused,
then clearly annoyed. Raelyn spoke first. “What in God's name are the two of
you doing in here?” Then it was Diana's turn. “Logan Matthew MacKenna,
why
aren't you wearing any clothes?”

“It's all Brooke's fault, mom,” he stammered, while jumping
up from the bed and trying to put on the clothes that she scooped up and dumped
into his arms. “Brooke wanted me to be her patient, and then she said I need
surgery and she tried to cut me open.”

“Oh, don't be such a tattletale, and a baby. I was only
joking.” Brooke said to Logan. In the way that kids do, he stuck his tongue out
at her.

“Both of you, outside now,” Raelyn said, pointing toward the
door. “We'll have to think about what your punishment is going to be.”

“And you can forget about going to the movies tomorrow,”
Diana added.

But, but – he'd been planning on seeing the new Steven
Spielberg movie for weeks.

“Aww, man,” he whined, and followed Brooke down the stairs.

“Keep it up, mister, and you'll be grounded for a week,” his
mother threatened.

He thought about missing Hook and what his punishment might
be, and swore to never play with Brooke again. Ever.

The smile on Brooke's face fascinated him. She was so
beautiful that it sometimes took his breath away.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked, nuzzling her neck.

She smiled because she couldn't help herself, and looked up
at him. “Oh, about the summer when we were eight and I got that medical play
set for my birthday and we played doctor in my bedroom.”

She knew he had to remember because he carried on for a
month about how he missed seeing some movie he'd wanted to see, and it was all
Brooke's fault. Him not playing with her only lasted until the next day, by the
way.

“Yeah, and I missed Hook thanks to you,” he teased.
Yep,
still holding onto that, are ya?
she thought, smiling.

“Thanks to me, huh? I seem to remember that you were the one
screaming like a girl, which tipped our moms off that we were up there.”
            He laughed, the memory becoming quite clear in his mind. “I can't
believe you still remember that,” he said.

“Of course I do. I remember everything that happened when we
were kids. Don't you?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” he answered, a smile tugging at his
lips. “Including you kissing me in the bouncy house when we were six.”

She stared at him, her mouth agape. “What are you talking
about?
You
kissed
me!
” she argued.

“Nope. That's not how I remember it, babe.” Amusement danced
in his eyes.

“And how, pray tell, do you
think
you remember it?”
She was becoming thoroughly entertained now.

“If memory serves correctly, you fell down, and after I
helped you up, you laid one on me.”

She laughed at his recollection of the event. “I seem to
recall that you
knocked
me down in the bouncy house, and after I got to
my feet, which wasn't an easy task considering the incredible bounciness and
all, you kissed me smack on the lips.”

He chuckled, and wrapped his arms tightly around her. “Okay,
have it your way,” he teased.

“Mhmm...” She still had a smile on her face.  He never
failed to make her laugh. That was just one of the many things she loved about
him.

They fell quiet for a minute, enjoying the closeness.

“Sometimes I wonder what our kids are going to be like. You
know, what they'll look like, what their little personalities will be like.”
She looked at him, their eyes locking. “Do you ever think about that?”

“Of course I do.” He'd thought about it many times, and he'd
come to the conclusion that he loved the thought of having children with
Brooke. There wasn't another woman on Earth he would want to share that with.
He watched as she absently played with the sparkling diamond engagement ring on
her wedding finger. He'd placed it there the summer before when he'd proposed
to her.

He was crazy in love with Brooke, and had been for most of
his life. One day they would be married and start a family and all of their
dreams would come true. Today, though, his goal was simply to ace his physics
exam. He'd been up late studying the night before, and was confident that he
was prepared.

The movement and noise level of students in the distance
told them it was about that time. Logan glanced at his watch. 12:52. They had
eight minutes to make it to their next class. They stood, grabbing their
backpacks, which were leaning against the side of the tree trunk. Logan threw
his over his shoulder, and then pulled Brooke in close to him. He kissed her,
thoroughly, a lip-tingling kiss that made her heart race. Still, after all this
time. She smiled up at him.

“I love you, Brooke.” He meant it with everything he had. He
couldn't imagine his life without her.

“I love you.”  She reached up to kiss him once more.

“See you later, babe.”

“Don't forget that we have Ben's party tonight,” she said,
referring to their mutual friend who was hosting an end-of-the-year party that
night at his family's vacation house on the bluff.

He smiled. “I'll pick you up at 7:00,” he called out as he
strode off in the direction of his class. She waved as she headed to her own.

Brooke had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity.
She glanced at her wristwatch. It had only been half an hour. It was 7:30 and
Logan still wasn't there to pick her up. With every minute that passed, she
became increasingly more worried. It wasn't like him to be late, and it
certainly wasn't like him not to call if he was going to be. He was the most
responsible, most considerate person she'd ever known. She'd called and texted
him already, but he hadn't answered either. No, definitely not like Logan, she
thought.

Jacqueline, Brooke's best friend and roommate, had already
left for the party with her boyfriend, Ian. They'd offered to give her a ride
over with them, but Brooke had insisted on waiting for Logan. Jacqueline
reminded Brooke that she was staying at Ian's place that night because they
were leaving early the next morning to go to his parents' house for the
weekend. Brooke assured her that she would see them at the party, eventually.

 She glanced at her wristwatch again. 7:40. She scooped up
her handbag and her keys. Maybe something was wrong. She'd just head over to
Logan's dorm room first. Maybe he'd fallen asleep and forgot to set the alarm.
Maybe he was sick and wasn't able to call her. All of these thoughts ran
through her mind as she slid behind the wheel of her car and drove the short distance
to Stone Hall, where Logan's dorm was located.

When she pulled into a vacant parking space, she noticed
Logan's car parked two spaces over. If his car was here, then he must still be
here, she thought, heading upstairs to his room. She knocked, but there was no
answer. She knocked again, and again, nothing. She pulled the key out from her
purse and unlocked the door. Opening it wide, she slipped inside.

 She called his name, but there was only a dull silence. She
made her way down the long hall, the closet to the right and the bathroom to
the left. The bathroom door was left open and she stopped briefly, peering
inside. A slightly damp towel was thrown over a bar that hung on the wall,
indicating that he had showered, but based on the fact that the towel was only
a bit damp and the smells of soap and deodorant and aftershave were very faint,
Brooke determined that it had been a while since Logan had been there.

She scanned the room. She spotted his backpack and tennis
racquet sitting on a chair in the far corner. A few articles of clothing were
scattered here and there. And on the center of the bed was his cell phone,
beeping periodically to alert him that he had a voice mail. She picked it up,
punching in the password, and scrolled through his missed calls. Yep, there
they were, the two missed calls from her. And the text message she'd sent,
unopened.

So he'd forgotten his cell phone, and that's why he hadn't
answered her. She knew there had to be some logical explanation. Alright, that
made perfect sense. But what didn't make any sense at all was the fact that he
was gone, and she had no idea where he could be. And whose car had he left in?